HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1505
2 PETER 2
page 1135
18 We ourselves heard that voice from heaven
when we were with him on the holy mountain.
19 Because of that experience, we have even
greater confidence in the message proclaimed
by the prophets. You must pay close attention
to what they wrote, for their words are like a
lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day
dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines* in
your hearts. 20 Above all, you must realize that
no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the
prophet’s own understanding,* 21 or from human
initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the
Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.
The Danger of False Teachers
But there were also false prophets in Israel,
just as there will be false teachers among
you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought
them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their
evil teaching and shameful immorality. And
because of these teachers, the way of truth will
be slandered. 3 In their greed they will make up
clever lies to get hold of your money. But God
condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.
4 For God did not spare even the angels who
sinned. He threw them into hell,* in gloomy
pits of darkness,* where they are being held
until the day of judgment. 5 And God did not
spare the ancient world—except for Noah and
the seven others in his family. Noah warned
the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God
protected Noah when he destroyed the world of
ungodly people with a vast flood. 6 Later, God
condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made
them an example of what will happen to ungodly
people. 7 But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom
because he was a righteous man who was sick
of the shameful immorality of the wicked people
around him. 8 Yes, Lot was a righteous man who
was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he
saw and heard day after day. 9 So you see, the
Lord knows how to rescue godly people from
their trials, even while keeping the wicked under
punishment until the day of final judgment. 10 He
is especially hard on those who follow their own
twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority.
These people are proud and arrogant, daring
even to scoff at supernatural beings* without so
much as trembling. 11 But the angels, who are
far greater in power and strength, do not dare
to bring from the Lord* a charge of blasphemy
against those supernatural beings.
2
1:19 Or rises. 1:20 Or is a matter of one’s own interpretation.
2:4a Greek Tartarus. 2:4b Some manuscripts read in chains
of gloom. 2:10 Greek at glorious ones, which are probably evil
angels. 2:11 Other manuscripts read to the Lord; still others
do not include this phrase at all. 2:13 Some manuscripts
read in fellowship meals. 2:15 Some manuscripts read Bosor.
12 These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and
destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed.
13 Their destruction is their reward for the harm
they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a
stain among you. They delight in deception* even
as they eat with you in your fellowship meals.
14 They commit adultery with their eyes, and their
desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained
in greed. They live under God’s curse. 15 They
have wandered off the right road and followed
the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor,* who loved
to earn money by doing wrong. 16 But Balaam was
stopped from his mad course when his donkey
rebuked him with a human voice.
17 These people are as useless as dried-up
springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They
are doomed to blackest darkness. 18 They brag
about themselves with empty, foolish boasting.
With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they
lure back into sin those who have barely escaped
from a lifestyle of deception. 19 They promise
freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin
and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever
• Maturity
2 PE TE R 1: 5-9
Godliness is achieved not when we work
to become more like God but when God
works in us. We develop godliness when
we allow God to have his way in our lives
instead of insisting on our own ways,
even though our ways may seem pious
and good. As we give ourselves to God in
a trusting relationship, we come to know
God, and God is able to fashion us to be
more like him. How might you allow God to
have a greater say in your life this week?
• Self-Control
2 PE TE R 1: 6
False teachers were telling Christians
that self-control was not needed because
works do not gain salvation anyway. It
is true that works cannot save us, but
it is absolutely false to think they are
unimportant. God wants to produce his
character of active love in us. But even
his work in us requires some effort and
thought on our part. Self-control is a vital
part of spiritual growth.